Covenant of the League of Nations

Context

World War I changed the world in many ways. Between 1914 and 1918 millions of people were killed or wounded in battle, and millions more died in a Spanish influenza outbreak that was exacerbated by the large transfers of soldiers and civilians. The winners, having suffered temporary but traumatic losses of territory and damage that can still be seen, were in a mood to exact revenge on the losing powers. Many of the old assumptions about the progress of humankind toward a better state through education, technical development, and a sense of culture and refinement had been destroyed. Empires that had existed for hundreds of years and that a short time before had seemed to be immortal had disintegrated. The falling apart and the accompanying turmoil and revolutions, particularly in eastern Europe, indicated that the old world order was dead.

However, the sense of bitterness and disillusion that would characterize the 1920s had not yet set in. While many senior statesmen did not hold great expectations for the League and doubted how effective it might be, the concept held enough merit in the eyes of many at least to warrant an attempt. The idea sprang directly from the Fourteen Points that U.S. president Woodrow Wilson had articulated in a speech delivered before a joint session of the U.S. Congress in 1918; these points outlined President Wilson's idea of what would need to be accomplished as a result of victory over Germany and its allies. Wilson's view was quite idealistic, and parts of the speech were in direct opposition to what he and many Americans had come to believe were the evils that had created the war. His Fourteen Points included freedom of the seas (a point with which his British allies did not agree), the end to secret treaties, and independence for such populations as the Poles and the nationalities that had been part of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. The final point was a call to establish an international organization that would promote peace in the world.

The Fourteen Points were seen as an idealistic program that would benefit many of the peoples that had been part of prewar empires; nevertheless, the document was seen as a just peace. It did have an effect in Germany and, coupled with the fact that American soldiers were arriving in great numbers in Europe, influenced Germany's decision to surrender. It was the final point that Wilson considered to be the most important. At his insistence, discussions that would define the covenant of a new organization, the League of Nations, were conducted as the first discussions of the entire Treaty of Versailles, which ended the war with Germany. With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, both the treaty and the Covenant of the League went into effect. The first session of the League's Council and, later, the Assembly occurred early the following year.